Doctor Who
Category:ArticlesCategory:Programs Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller (called a Time Lord) known as "the Doctor" who travels in his time and spaceship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box. With his companions, he explores time and space whilst facing a variety of foes and righting wrongs. The programme is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world, and as the "most successful" science fiction series of all time, in terms of its overall broadcast ratings, DVD sales, book sales and iTunes traffic, as well as "illegal downloads." It has been recognised for its imaginative stories, creative low-budget special effects during its original run, and pioneering use of electronic music. The show is a significant part of British popular culture; in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, it has become a cult television favourite and has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. It has received recognition from critics and the public as one of the finest British television programmes, including the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2006. 2005 Series Doctor Who was revived with an all new weekly one-hour television series in 2005. The series carried over from the same continuity of the original series, but with a brand new cast of characters. The program debuted with actor Christopher Eccleston playing the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper taking up the role of the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler. Physically, Piper bore a strong resemblance to Lalla Ward, who played Romana, companion to the Fourth Doctor played by Tom Baker. The first season of the show aired for thirteen episodes with Eccleston bowing out with the season finale. Taking his place as the Tenth Doctor was Scottish actor David Tennant. Tennant debuted at the climax of the series one finale "The Parting of the Ways" and made his first full appearance as the Doctor in the series two premiere, "The Christmas Invasion". Piper reprised the role of Rose Tyler for series two, but by season three she was replaced with a new companion, Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman. Freema only remained on the show through the first half of series three whereupon she was replaced by Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate. In 2010, David Tennant ended his role as the Doctor and the part was picked up by younger British actor Matt Smith. Episodes (1963 series) Series One Series Two Series Three Series Four Series Five Series Six Series Seven Series Eight Series Nine Series Ten Series Eleven Series Twelve Series Thirteen Series Fourteen Series Fifteen Series Sixteen Series Seventeen Series Eighteen Series Nineteen Series Twenty Series Twenty-One Series Twenty-Two Series Twenty-Three Series Twenty-Four Series Twenty-Five Series Twenty-Six Notes & Trivia * In the "Necromancing the Stone" episode of the CW Network television series Legends of Tomorrow, the character of John Constantine speaks about space ships and time travel and remarks, "My card says 'Master of the Dark Arts,' not 'Doctor Ruddy What's-His-Face', to which Ava Sharpe and Gary Green both respond in unison, "Who?". See also External Links King Kong Escapes Doctor Who is a fictional antagonist featured in the 1967 giant monster ("daikaiju") film King Kong Escapes. Played by actor Eisei Amamoto, he was presented as an evil criminal mastermind of Asian descent. Doctor Who and his team of black-garbed henchmen sought the ever-elusive Element X - an ultra-rare mineral that could tip the scales of the Cold War due to its applications in nuclear processes. More a capitalist than a would-be conqueror, Doctor Who was more than content to sell any Element X he acquired to any nation willing to pay his prices. His client was a mysterious woman who called herself Madame Piranha. The only place Doctor Who could mine for Element X was in the North Pole, but the frozen cliffs were too hard for any of his drilling equipment to penetrate. To alleviate this concern, Doctor Who created a giant robot gorilla called Mechanikong, which was based on designs that he had stolen from the American military officer Commander Carl Nelson. The mechanikong was based on the likeness on an actual sixty-foot gorilla known as Kingukongu, or "King Kong". When his robot Kong failed to tunnel through the mountainside, Doctor Who set out to acquire the actual King Kong as a replacement. His team and he took a helicopter to Mondo Island where they used knockout gas to capture Kong. He fitted him with a transmission earpiece that forced Kong to obey his commands, and put him to work, carving out the mountain caverns for Element X. The earpiece became damaged however, and Kong was free of Doctor Who's control. Now that he had lost control of Kong, he knew he had to put him down, so he re-activated mechanikong to fight him. The two simian titans squared off against one another on Tokyo Tower in Japan. ---- Category:Sydney Newman Category:C.E. Webber Category:Donald Wilson Category:Terrance Dicks Category:Barry Letts Category:Michael Wisher Category:Christopher Barry Category:John Davies